Because Once a Week…You are Entitled to My Opinion!

Weekly Real Estate Industry News, Opinion & Humor

Archives for March 2011

Two years ago, Century 21 got out of the Television advertising business. Their claim at the time was that they would be concentrating their efforts on the internet. Despite these claims, their overall advertising dropped 43% in 2009 according to industry sources. This drew continued discontent from many of their brokers and agents.

According to advertising age, that trend has now shifted and they are going to be a pregame sponsor of the 2012 Superbowl as well as buying time for a Superbowl ad. Further changes in their marketing direction are on the way. According to industry sources, they feel their brand has plenty of exposure, but they would like to define more clearly the expertise that their agents bring to bear for potential buyers and sellers.

Financing is harder and harder to come by. Recently, February 2011 sets a new record, as 33.7% of homes were purcahsed with cash, nearly a 7% incrase from February 2010 according to NAR. Investors are responsible for purchasing 23.5% of homes sold in February, an indication that investors are coming back into the market. However, an a recent survey of 3,000 Realtors, the average sales per month for these agents went from 2.1 closings in January to 1.7 closings in February an indication that might look like a rough start spring. For more information on the full article click here.

NAR has announced that they intend to raise dues by $40 per year in 2012 and in 2013 to fund more political donations and clout. This has been met with mixed reviews and generally negative reactions from the real estate blogging community. A great overall analysis of the proposed fee hike is done here by Rob Hahn and an excellent op ed was written by Jay Thompson.

The sticking point for many of the bloggers seems to be that the fees are MANDATORY. For years, REALTORS can contribute via RPAC to NAR’s political action committee, but making the $40 fee hike mandatory crosses a bridge many are not willing to cross.

RealEstateIndustryWatch would be interested in posting anyone with a PRO fee increase point of view. Please comment below.

Tax Day is looming, sparking memories of the landmark home-buying tax credits that helped prop up the flailing housing market over the last 18 months.

But there’s still one deserving demographic that can take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit for first-timers and its companion $6,500 credit for existing homeowners: America’s active duty service members.

Qualified service members who served at least 90 days on extended duty from January 2009 to April 30, 2010, can pounce on these tax credits through April. Borrowers have until April 30 to purchase a home and until the end of June to close.

Other than that, requirements for participation are the same as for civilians: income limits of $125,000 individual and $225,000 for joint filers; purchase price at or below $800,000; and first-timers cannot have owned a home in the last three years.

Real estate professionals in military heavy areas have just a few more weeks to get these service members into homes. The tax credit can be combined with the wide-ranging benefits of VA loans to create a powerful purchasing opportunity for qualified military members.

The heat is on! Wisconsin Replublicans and Democrats have not yet come to terms on a collective bargaining agreement for state workers. Republicans are only one vote away from passing the bill which takes away union bargaining rights. Governor Scott Walker warned of mass layouts to 1500 state union employees; since 20 democrats have fled south to Illinois. Wisconsin’s economy is caught in the heart of this mess. The state capital building has the same amount of protestors as the vietnam war did about 40 years ago.

If 1500 workers are permanently laid off, how many can keep their homes? Wisconsin is currently is a 3.6 billion budget shortfall this year. Something has to give. Should it be state union employees accounting for $30 million of the deficit or can others areas be trimmed down? All major news networks has been covering this story. As the nation watches Wisconsin, which could soon also be a turning point in our nation, how will our housing market remain? Do you see more shadow inventory (foreclosures & Short Sales) coming down the line?